Sewin' again!

From bridal showers to weddings and fall cleaning to party hosting, the last few months have been fun, but busy. I'm definitely ready to get back into routine and squeeze in a little down time...namely sewing. Christmas is right around the corner, and I'm hoping to finish a couple aprons for gift-giving. They are actually almost finished, but now my serger decided to be cranky, so I think I need to bring it in for servicing. Blah. At least I was able to finish a custom order diaper bag, which didn't require any serging.

It was a custom order for a friend's sister. I hope she likes it! She seemed pretty flexible about the dimensions and details, so I kept it simple. It was fun sewing a diaper bag again. I haven't made one since before Sweet Pea was born, and that one was kind of complicated. Lots of measuring + mathematics = headache.

My goals for this month are to finish Peanut's quilt (remember that quilt I started MONTHS ago!), make a pinafore/apron for my niece, and finish a custom duvet cover. No, these things shouldn't take too long, but I tend to plug away at my sewing projects a little bit every couple days. So, it does take a little while. On top of that, I do like to sit down and relax with some knitting every few nights. My hands like to stay busy, so eventually everything will get finished :).

Wedding Fun!

After weeks and months of preparation, my sister and her fiance got married last week. Congrats you two! While they honeymoon in a beautiful, sunny place, our little family is gradually getting things back to normal. I finally tackled a few custom sewing orders (sorry ladies...I appreciate you understanding the busy life of a young mama). I also decided to check in here and update y'all.

In late September I hosted a bridal shower for my sister. It was so much fun preparing and decorating for the party! I actually get a little giddy when I'm planning a party. I love thinking about all the little details from the menu to what candles I want to light. So fun!

A few months ago I discovered the website of Amy Atlas. Wow, she makes dessert tables look gorgeous! So, I got a some inspiration from her and set up a "Sweet Table" at the party. The theme was pink, brown, and cherry blossoms. It was fun planning a 'girlie' party.


I've seen cherry blossom cakes on Flickr, and I've always thought they were lovely. I was excited to use my sister's shower as an excuse to make one myself. My sister-in-law, a talented cake decorator, nicely allowed me to borrow her supplies and taught me how to make the blossoms. It was a fun project to tackle and I was so happy with how it turned out!


I also tackled chocolate-making for the first time. I used a mold called "Birds and Blossoms" and purchased melting wafers online. I didn't realize how simple choclate-making can be! I expected a big chocolate mess on my stove and in numerous pots and pans. But I was able to melt the chocolate in the microwave and used a spoon and toothpick to fill the molds - easy peasie!


I didn't take as many pictures at the wedding as I would have liked. The role of "Matron of Honor" and "Mama" kept me busy enough. My sister has amazing taste, and everything was lovely - you'll just have to take my word on that :). Everything was black and white damask with hints of burnt orange and gold - gorgeous!

One last minute sewing project was a jacket for my little Sweet Pea. I found a black and white dress at Old Navy that fit the wedding theme perfectly. The only down side with the dress was that it was a summer dress and had very small cap sleeves. It was much to cool for an October wedding. So last week I decided to whip up a cute little jacket for her to wear. I made a pattern from one of her dresses out of muslin. The jacket ended up being a little snug, but at least she's a baby and doesn't have to move around too much :). This isn't the greatest photo, but at least you can see most of the jacket and a bit of the dress.


We had a lovely day and I hope my sister and new brother enjoyed themselves too! Now on to some sewing projects. Next up is finishing a diaper bag as well as some aprons. I have a few aprons that will be ready just in time for Christmas gift giving, if you are interested in purchasing one or more just let me know. I'll post them as soon as they're finished! Stay tuned!

Giveaway!

Judi is having ANOTHER giveaway! Go check it out here! I think all I've been blogging about lately has been giveaways :). One of these days I'll get back into a sewing groove, but right now I'm busy with my kiddies - one is being potty trained and the other is starting to crawl... I'm having a ton of fun, there just isn't much sewing happening. As the weather starts getting more chilly and crisp, I think the sewing itch will kick in soon enough. Stay tuned!

Another Giveaway!

Judi is having another great giveaway on her blog - this time it's for a lovely bundle of fabric. Just leave a comment on her blog to be entered.

Also, just a quick update from me: I'm plugging away at my sewing projects, but only a little bit every couple days. Life has gotten so busy the last couple weeks! We're in the middle of potty training Peanut and we're trying to squeeze in all kinds of fun in the sun before the summer ends. I'll have to post some "in progress" photos one of these days. I usually like to save photos for when I'm finished a project, but I don't know how many projects I'll actually finish this month... I just have a bunch on the go...

I'm hoping to get back into a more consistent sewing groove when the weather cools down. I get lots of inspiration in the summer, but don't actually find the time to sew things until the fall/winter. I have a little sketchbook next to my sewing machine that I doodle all my bag, quilt, and clothing designs. (There is also the odd sticky note on the night stand from "middle-of-the-night-should-be-sleeping" bursts of ideas. If I actually have a "hmmm...what should I sew?" moment, I just pull out my sketchbook for ideas. It's always fun to tackle a project that has been tossing around in my brain for a while and attempt to make it a reality. Fun, fun!

:) :) :)

Check out the results here.

I'm just a little excited. :)

My take on the 'Throwdown' bag

I was recently visiting the Tiny Seamstress blog, when I noticed a friendly little competition. The challenge was to design a bag based on simple bag pattern brought to you by Tiffany of Tiny Seamstress Designs. As long as the basic bag and dimensions were the same, we have free rein. Fun! I'm always up for a great sewing challenge!

Here's what I came up with:



I've been considering making a bag for Peanut for some time. As he gets older (he's almost 3!!!), he's starting to walk on his own as opposed to constantly being harnessed in the stroller. Plus, he doesn't really need a diaper bag chuck full of stuff - a snack, a juice box, a couple diapers and he's good to go! He loves helping out and enjoys carrying things for me. Lately he's been carrying his own bag of books to the library, but all my totes are just too big for him. So, I thought it would be nice if he had a little backpack for our outings.



I decided to do a bit of quilting for his bag as well as applique his hand on the front. (He has a little obsession with tracing his hand lately, so I thought he would appreciate that detail :)) I also did a little stippling on the pieced part of the bag (my own recent obsession).



The back has two simple corduroy straps that are sewn to the top of the bag. I attached ties in the side seams of the bag and the ends of the straps to make a couple little bows. I did it because I thought it looked cute. Hopefully it's practical too. :) Also, this way we have the option of tying the two straps together for a single strap to go over his shoulder if he gets tired of the backpack.

He already loves his backpack and can't wait to try it out!

An amazing giveaway!!!

Judi over at Green Fairy Quilts is having a stupendous giveaway to celebrate her 100th blog post. She is giving away four and maybe even five of her lovely products including a quilt pattern, quilted bag, and more!

The "nice" side of me wants to share this great news with everyone. The "naughty" side of me wants to selfishly keep this fabulous news to myself. Shocking, eh! Well, Judi was nice enough to throw in 5 entries to anyone who blogged about her giveaway, so I guess I feel better ;).

Also, take some time to read about the charity Judi and her husband have organized. I wish I had a quilt laying around to donate, but I can barely stay on top of my own sewing projects lately. Maybe as my piles of fabric scraps and little kiddos grow, I'll have the resources and time to donate to this worthy cause.

Go check it out!